Musings about Tradition in the Catholic Church in England and Wales, and an attempt to collect essays and articles which would appear in a Catholic press which exercised critical solidarity with the Hierarchy.

10 November 2009

Prayers, Please, Times Three

.Once, for the family of a dear friend and commenter who has just become a grandfather.

Secondly, for Fr Hunwicke, faced with a big choice.

Third, for a Catholic priest who, up to the limits with his Bishop, took the Anglican option to maintain, as he thought, his opportunity to be Catholic. A Motu Proprio and an Apostolic Constitution later, and he is in a very difficult position indeed, and needs lots and lots of prayers..

3 comments:

A very belated message to say that I will add my prayers for these intentions.

Really distressing about Catholic priests in the situation you describe. Anglicanorum Coetibus seems quite clear in its insistence that they must be reconciled into the mainstream of the Catholic Church, and will not be allowed to join the Ordinariate.

There are also those lay Catholics who have been worshipping in Anglo-Catholic churches, because of the distressing or disheartening things they have experienced in local RC parishes. Their dilemma is somewhat different. They can join the Ordinariate, but only if members of their family are in it. However, I think it is correct to say that Catholics are allowed to fulfil their obligations by attending Mass in any recognised rite, so they could continue to attend Mass in the Anglican form.

Having said that, I assume they will have to be classed, at the very least, as having missed Mass, and would therefore have to be reconciled (to the mainstream of the Catholic Church) by means of sacramental Confession. Or could they be reconciled to the mainstream Church by means of Confession to an Ordinariate priest? And, once the Ordinariate is established, surely they would have to refrain immediately from receiving Holy Communion from their formerly-Anglican priest, until they have been to Confession? - just as any Catholic who had missed Mass would be disbarred from Holy Communion until he had made a sacramental Confession. But there may already be some provision in Canon Law which would enable everyone concerned to be regularised.